Throughout the majority of the year, OKC Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been seen as the odds-on favorite to win the NBA's Most Valuable Player award come the conclusion of the 2024-25 campaign.
From his league-leading 32.8 points per game averages and top-net rating of 17.6 (of those who have logged 30 or more games) to the sheer fact that he's the number one player on the number one seed in the Western Conference, this should come as no surprise.
However, as of late, the pollsters seem to be fading on his top-billed candidacy for the game's highest individual regular season honor, as NBA.com just recently moved Nuggets star Nikola Jokic ahead of him on their latest MVP ladder.
Citing the fact that he's on pace to average 28.8 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 10.4 assists per game while shooting 57.6 percent from the floor and 43.9 percent from deep and is recently coming off of a 32-point triple-double, writer Shaun Powell believes that, at least for this most recent update, the 30-year-old deserves the edge over SGA.
Now, while some fans may feel like they're having a bit of déjà vu with this shift in the rankings, as it appeared Gilgeous-Alexander all but had the Michael Jordan Trophy locked up last season before Jokic ultimately swooped in to claim it for his third win, it would seem the Thunder centerpiece is far from fazed.
In fact, based on his recent play, it appears he's responding to his supplanting in the MVP race in the only way he knows how -- by absolutely balling out.
Thunder star lighting it up after dropping in latest NBA MVP update
Since the calendar year flipped to 2025, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has clearly been playing on a completely different wavelength than the rest of the association.
Through 29 games played, the point guard has gone on to average 34.4 points, 6.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and a block while shooting 52.4 percent from the floor and 41.3 percent from deep.
Considering how electric he's been throughout the season, especially since January, it seemed somewhat unfathomable that he'd be able to reach an even higher level of on-court production.
Then their January 22 bout against the Utah Jazz came along.
Coming into the season, the Thunder star had shockingly never recorded a single game in his professional career where he dropped 50 or more points.
Against the Jazz, he went on to have himself a 54-point performance and, over the 20 games since, has gone on to record three more 50-plus point games.
Such an accomplishment is the fastest a player has ever gone from zero to four in league history.
Over his last two games alone, Gilgeous-Alexander has been responsible for a ridiculous 92 points scored on his own (36 percent of Oklahoma City's points during this span), while the Thunder have registered a scorching hot 16-4 record since his first 50-point barrage.
As Thunder fans are already well aware, the three-time All-Star is a man of few words, especially when it comes to responding to criticisms of both himself and his team.
Instead, he lets his play do the talking for him and, in response to the recent update to the NBA MVP race, it would seem that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is trying to show just how unwarranted he believes his demotion is.